Showers of Joy Reign at the Bridge..Chelsea beat Liverpool for CL Finals berth

The final act has been performed in the semi final leg of the Champions League. Rain poured down on Stamford Bridge as Chelsea battled their rivals Liverpool to win the elusive prize of a spot in the final in Moscow. Drogba and company now face Manchester United. This creats a tasty rematch to Saturday's premiereship battle. Drogba scored two magnificent goals to answer Liverpool's managers off colour comments about his sportsmanship. Grief stricken English midfielder Frank Lampard scored an amazing penalty which he dedicated full of emotion to his late mother. This game saw Chelsea continue to play attacking football that lead them to victory on the weekend against a determined Manchester United side. Both teams came into the match knowing each other well. The appointment of team managers Rafa Benetiz and Jose Morinho fueled a bitter rivalry that saw the teams meeting each other 20 times. Monrinho is no longer around but his replacement Avram Grant ensured that the embers remained burning refused to let Liverpool gain the advantage over his team. Stamford Bridge was again became a sea of blue and white. The Liverpool supporters managed to control one area of the stadium and decked it full red. The home supporters raised their heads to the heavens and sang chants of Chelsea into the air. Even Sir Alex Ferguson sat patiently and waited for the match to start.

The game was played on Chelsea's home ground the formidable Stamford Bridge and Chelsea was full of confidence after denying Manchester United a victory on the weekend. Grant selected a team that had pace and power upfront. Drogba was at the front with Kalau and Joe Cole on either wing. Grant then went with experienced defense and attacking prowess in the midde. He positioned Makelele in the middle to anchor, and supported him with Lampard and Ballack. In defense he decided on a strong central force and attacking on the wings. He positioned multi dimensional Essien into right back and Ashley Cole on the left. The experienced combo of Carvalho and captain John Terry protected the space infront of keeper Peter Cech. Benitez on the other hand left most of his attacking Arsenal on the bench and went with a more defensive approach. Up front he chose the lethal striker Fernando Torres who was supported by Dirk Kuyt on the right wing. In midfield he chose defensive forces in the likes of Alonso and Mascherano, with Benayoun and Gerrard providing the offense. In defense he decided to use talented youth with experienced veterans. Risse and Arbeloa were combined with the indestructable Steve Carragher and January transfer Skrtel. Reina kept the space between the goal posts. Both sides looked evenly poised even though I felt Grant had the upper hand with placing Makelele in midfield, while bringing Essien to provide multi roles of defense and forward movement up the wing. Liverpool needed a goal and could have been more attacking in their approach using either Pennant or Babel to bring pace. However Benayoun is not much of a slouch.

As the whistle blew the players burst out into a high paced midfield run. The pitch was slick from a thunderstorm that dumped rain onto the field. Chelsea controlled the game with precision passes that forced Liverpool back in defense. Drogba is the first player to attack the goal. He finds an open space outside the box and hits a low range effort that almost foiled Reina. He found the wet ball difficult to hold and had to make a second attempt to grasp it. The second attempt on goal belonged to Liverpool. In the 9th minute Benayoun gets open and passes the ball to Gerrard who pushes the ball through Chelsea's box to the awaiting feet of Fernando Torres. El Nino quickly turns on his defenders and takes a low shot that is saved miraculously by Cech. Chelsea were quick to return the favour. Drogba recieved the ball from the left wing and then turns and powers his way towards the box. Skrtel rushes to end his run and kicks the ball away for a corner. In the process the defender hurts himself and express signs of discomfort. Drogba angered by Rafa's comments seemed determined to score and kept on running at Liverpool's defense. In the 14th minute Torres jumps to meet a cross and is fouled in the process by Carvalho. Risse takes the freekick but it fails to pass Chelsea's wall. Chelsea then make a swift counter attack in which Lampard precisely passes the ball to Drogba who beats the Liverpool defense and hits a diagonal shot from the left, but it ends up wide of the goal. Chelsea soon get another shot on goal in the 21st minute. Ballack finds himself open ouside the box and takes a long range shot. Reina was up for the challenge and stopped it from going in.

Rafa was then forced to make a substitution for his injured player. Skrtel was then replaced by Hyppia who ran on to the pitch and joind Carragherv in the back. The game then settles down, both teams decide to reduce the pace and fight it out in the midfield. This battle soon came to an end when Torres pushing out on the right wing runs into Carvalho and loses possession of the ball. Lampard takes control of the ball and passes it to Kalau. Kalau skillfully weaves his way the the left side of the box and takes a shot to the right. Reina stretches across his goal and pushes the ball away. The ball ends up infront of Drogba who came in from the left. Drogba immediately punished Reina for his mistake by hitting the ball while his he positioned himself in an almost impossible angle. His effort was rewarded with a goal as the ball hit the right corner of the goal. Roars from the home supporters cancelled out the groans from the Liverpool fans. Drogba then ran over to the Liverpool bench and tauntingly dived infront of them. Chelsea in the 33th minute were now in the driving seat to seal a victory. In the 38th minute Liverpool had an injury scare. Gerrard made a run in midfeild and Drogba slide tackles him hitting him on his ankle. The Liverpool captain spends the next couple of minutes hobbling, trying to run off the injury. Thankfully he was successful and was able to carry on valiantly. The game is approached halftime and Kalau continued to break away from his defenders. In the 40th minute he manages to breakaway on the wing and runs towards the box. He is then brought down by Alonso infront of the box. Alonso was then carded and Drogba and Ballack stand over the ball. Drogba pretended to take the kick as Ballack hit the a curving free kick that had Reina flatfooted. To the home team's dismay the kick was just wide of the goal.

In the second half Liverpool began to show their class. They soon took control of the game forcing the Blues into their own half with a number of offensive moves orchestrated by their skipper Gerrard. Gerrard wins a header and crosses the ball to Kuyt who almost brings home the goal. Not long after Gerrard and Kuyt challenge Chelsea's goal once more. Gerrard takes a corner cross that lands in Kuyts path but Drogba stood in his way. The Ivorian made took no chances and cleared the ball immediately. Chelsea then recieved their own chances. Ballack attacks the right and is brought down. Ghanian midfielder Essien, took the ball and continued towards goal but was called back by the referee for the foul. Esssien was furious as he saw the referee take away his chance to test Reina's reflexes. Lampard is chosen to take the free kick but it fails to connect. Liverpool then attacked Chelsea relentlessly in search of a goal. Chelsea soon return the favour. Ashley Cole finds himself open on the left and cross the ball to Ballack. Ballack brings down the ball outside the box and fires a shot. Reina was not impressed and saved the ball. Chelsea and Liverpool then battled on in the midfield neither team controlling possession. Liverpool finally wins the battle in the 54th minute and Mascherano makes a beautiful run on the right and crosses the ball across the goal. Cech clutches the cross to safety.

Liverpool then make tactical changes. Kuyt and Benayoun switch wings and Essien breaks free on a run. He passes the ball to who lines up a shot just outside the box. Reina makes an easy save and prepares Liverpool for an attack. Liverpool gain momentum and in the 64 minute Benayoun breaks into the box executing beautiful foot magic. He then passes the ball to Torres turns and slips a diagonal low shot that enters Reina's goal. Stamford Bridge went into shock. The home supporters were left speechless while Liverpool supporters sang their team songs. It was the first time Liverpool scored at the Bridge in over 40 yrs. Liverpool now smelled victory and Gerrard lead his players forward. Benayoun proved to be a lethal weapon on in his new role he once again breached Chelseas defense with a low pass. Torres met the pass but was engulfed by four Chelsea players who made a steel wall in his path. Chelsea quickly learned not to give Torres room to breath and cancelled out Liverpool's plans. Grant then decided to make changes. In the 75th minute Kalau taken off and the French midfielder Maloada was brought on. Essien refused to withdraw and defend. He recieves the ball from his own half and pushes through Liverpool's defense like a steam rolling engine. He enters into the box and fires a shot from a poor angle that ends up in the side netting. Cheers went up as everyone felt he scored. Rafa then decides to inject speed into his team. He replaces Benayoun with Pennant. Pennant introduction brought resurgence to Liverpool. In the 81st minute he runs down the wing and crosses the ball to Kuyt who clashes with Cech as they rush for the ball. Gerrard then rises over Makelele to win the ball. He then pushes it Pennant who crossed the ball to Torres. Torres then passes it to Kuyt who fails to score. The game approached full time and without a goal the game would have to be determined in extra time. In the 88th minute Gerrard falls to the ground. The ball is kicked out of play and to Liverpool's relief his feet were just cramped.

The game then went into extra time. Grants decides to add more attacking options up front and brings on Nic Anelka to replace Joe Cole. Liverpool continue to press forward. Risse makes a lovely run on the wing and passed the ball to Mascherano who flicks it to Torres but Chelsea defense stood firm. Drogba then revives Chelsea's chances with a beautiful run through the middle he then loses the ball to Carragher. In 4 minute of extra time Anelka floats to the right and executes a pass to Essien just outside the box. He fires in a screamer that leaves Reina grasping for rain droplets. Essien rushes to the sideline in celebration only to hear that the goal was called off because of an offside decision. The match officials felt that some Chelsea players interfared with play. Esssien and his teamates respond to the call in anger. Chelsea then recieve a chance to gain redemption. Hyppia trying to subdue Ballack fouls the German and a penalty is awarded. Frank Lampard decides that he will take the spotkick. Emotion rushes his face as he prepared to take the kick. The whistle blew and Lampard struck the ball into the right corner of the goal. Stamford Bridge erupts in happiness. Lampard took off his black armband and placed his hands in the sky and knelt in emotion. Everyone stood up as he paid tribute to his mother who passed away. After the dedication concluded everyone was surprised that Rafa took of his most valuable player, Fernando Torres. Torres quietly walked off the field and was replaced by Dutch midfielder Ryan Babel. Babel immediately makes his presence known with a run into the box that results in a corner. Gerrard crosses the corner to Alonso. He greeted the ball with a header on goal. Cech saved it brilliantly. Chelsea then pushed into high gear. Essien once again breaks free and executes a pass to Anelka. Anelka then seeks out Drogba who made no mistake to test Reina's skills. Drogba perfectly places the ball into the back of the net. He goes estactic and slides through the wet grass in celebration.

The second half of extra time then came to an end. The second half of extra time was full of determination and anticipation. Liverpool press into Chelsea's box. The ball is free in the box and Drogba pushes a foot out that trips Hypiaa in the box. The referee starts to put his whistle to his mouth to award the penalty, and then decides to withdraw. Chelsea somehow escape the call. Chelsea were now desperate to finish off Liverpool. Ashley Cole rushed forward and hit a low pass parrallel to the box. Drogba dummies over the ball and watches it meet Malouda. Malouda lined up to take the shot but was foiled by crunching tackle by Mascherano. The Liverpool defender is carded and Chelsea was awarded a free kick. Drogba took the free kick that is deflected into the sideline. The game is coming to a close, and Grant makes a bold move. He decides to take off midfielder Frank Lampard and replaces him with striker Andri Shevchenko. Lampard recieves a standing ovation from the crowd as he walks off with his black armband clutched in his hand. It could have been the strikers brilliant defensive display on the weekend that made Grant have faith in him over defensive midfielder Obi Mikel. Shevchenko was not even fully on the field when Babel broke away in the middle and blasted a shot from 30 yrds out that Cech failed to handle. Stamford Bridge is once more stunned and Liverpool push on. In the final minutes Gerrard pushes forward and lines up to cross the ball. Ashley Cole sacrificed his body twice to prevent the skipper from succeeding. The whistle then blowed and Drogba goes crazy in delight. Grant fallec to his knees and said a prayer to God. Gerrard and his team mates lowered their heads accepting defeat.

My two cents: First of all I have to say what a match. These teams usually provided as much entertainment as reading books hidden in the Library of Congress. But this tie provide some great action. This game was won by the tactics of the coach. Rafa made a number of mistakes that led to his teams downfall. The first one he made was to unecessarily anger one of the most lethal strikers in the game, Didier Drogba. His comments gave Drogba more incentives to embarrass Liverpool on the field. Rafa also failed to adapt to Chelsea new playing style. Grant and his assistants over the pass couple have weeks have changed Chelsea into an attacking side. Rafa after meeting Chelsea so much times prepared a team that would grind out a result. He decided to play holding defensive midfielders instead of his pacy wing men and relied on Torres to score the goal. This would have been a great move if Chelsea did not have an away goal, but they did. Rafa should have prepared a team that could outpace Chelsea's midfield. All of Chelsea's midfield were over the age of 30 and utilizing either Pennant or Babel could have required them to do a lot of running which could have led to mistakes. Torres was also subdued for the majority of the match. Rafa should have noted this and put on Crouch to take some pressure off marquee player. Chelsea defenders would then have to choose who to concentrate on and Essien would not be able to make as much runs up front leaving an open space in the back. His best move was to switch Benayoun on to the oppposite wing which made him free to run and service Torres. Liverpool like Barcalona had one attacking option and when their opponents adapted to create obstacles they were left in the wilderness to be taken out by sniper shots.

Grant on the other hand understood that he could not rely one the gift he was given by Risse. He then decided to go with a team that was proven to score goals. Drogba is more than used to holding his own up front. Kalau and Joe Cole provided pace from the wings and service. Ballack and Lampard provided forward movement with passes and Makelele providing a frontline for the defense. Knowing that he needed Makelele in defense he still decided to utilize Essien by placing him in right back. Essien's quick pace allowed him to fill the attacking void left by Makelele. When Liverpool began to tire, Grant realized that his wing attack was getting fatigued by constant battering from Liverpool. He then decided to bring his attack forward with attacking option Maloada, Anelka and finally Shevchenko.